Leonce und Lena

Prince Leonce of the Kingdom of Popo and his friend Valerio are passionate about doing absolutely nothing. However, now of all times, King Peter intends to resign from his official duties. Prince Leonce should now accede to the throne and get married. In order to escape an arranged marriage with a princess he does not know, Leonce flees to Italy. The bride chosen for him, Princess Lena of the Kingdom of Pipi, also has no intention whatsoever of marrying a man she does not know, and escapes the royal marriage plans with her governess. The two meet en route – and fall in love. Ignorant of one another’s identity, they appear masked at the court of Leonce’s court and are married to each other. One cannot escape one’s predetermined fate…

Christian Spuck proves that a comedy about boredom can be anything but boring in his balletic interpretation, in which he transforms Georg Büchner’s sarcastic stage play into a subtle, fast-paced, robotic farce. Polkas and waltzes by the Strauss dynasty as well as contemporary music by Alfred Schnittke and Bernd Alois Zimmermann provide the soundtrack for the tragicomic story, and emphasise its satirical elements.

Filipe Portugal

Filipe Portugal trained in Lisbon and, after acquiring his initial professional experience with the National Ballet of Portugal, first joined the Ballett Zürich in 2002. Over the next seven years he danced solo roles for the company in Cinderella, The Nutcracker, In den Winden im Nichts, Goldberg Variations, Swan Lake, Stepping Stones, Don Quixote (in the title role), Coppélia, Giselle and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In addition to numerous further roles in works by Heinz Spoerli, he also danced solo parts in choreographies by Balanchine, Forsythe, Kylián, Lin Hwai-min, Duato and Ek, and devised his own choreographies Road B., Alleged Dances and Sonata for the company. In 2009 he rejoined the National Ballet of Portugal as a principal dancer, and performed in various productions including Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, The Sleeping Beauty and La Sylphide and in choreographies by van Manen, Lopes Graça, Sotto and Wellenkamp over the following two years. He returned to the Ballett Zürich in February 2011; and his performances last season included Lorenzo in Christian Spuck’s Romeo and Juliet, King Peter in Spuck’s Leonce and Lena and the doctor in his Woyzeck. He was also seen in choreographies by Jiří Kylián and Douglas Lee; and he presented his own work Silk Road as part of the company’s Young Choreographers programme.

Manuel Renard

Manuel Renard was born on Guadeloupe (France). He trained at the Académie Internationale de Danse des Antilles, at the Alvin Ailey Dance Center in New York and at the Atelier Rudra-Béjart in Lausanne, and won first prize in the Confédération Nationale Française de Danse Competition for 1998 and 1999. After engagements with Maurice Béjart’s Compagnie M (2002/03), the Monte Carlo Ballet (2003-2007) and the Basel Ballet (2007-2012), he joined Ballett Zürich for the 2012/13 season. He has since been seen in a number of roles including Friar Laurence in Christian Spuck’s Romeo and Juliet, Von Rothbart in Heinz Spoerli’s Swan Lake and the doctor in Christian Spuck’s Woyzeck. He has also danced in further choreographies by William Forsythe, Sol León/Paul Lightfoot, Mats Ek and Wayne McGregor. And he has presented his own work, La Part des Anges, as part of Ballett Zürich’s Young Choreographers programme.

Denis Vieira

Denis Vieira is from Brazil. A graduate of his home country’s Bolshoi Theatre School, he has danced various roles for the Teatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro including Onegin/Lensky in John Cranko’s Onegin, Romeo in Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet, Adam in Uwe Scholz’s Adam and Eve, Albrecht in Peter Wright’s Giselle and Prince Siegfried in Yelena Pankova’s Swan Lake. He joined Ballett Zürich at the beginning of this year, since when he has been seen in Martin Schläpfer’s Forellenquintett, in Wings of Wax by Jiří Kylián and in Kairos by Wayne McGregor. He has also performed as Tybalt and as Romeo in Christian Spuck’s Romeo and Juliet.

Katja Wünsche

Katja Wünsche is a native of Dresden, Germany, but grew up in Berlin. It was there that she attended the State Ballet School, from which she graduated in 1999. A semi-finalist in the 1997 Prix de Lausanne international ballet competition, she came second in the same contest two years later, when she also earned the event’s Audience Favourite Award. The same year – 1999 – she won first prize in the Eurovision Young Dancers competition. After completing her studies, she joined the Stuttgart Ballet’s corps de ballet for the 1999/2000 season, where she was promoted to principal dancer in 2006/07. In 2007 she won Germany’s Zukunft dance award and its DER FAUST theatre prize (in the Dance Performance category) for her interpretation of Nadia in Mauro Bigonzetti’s I Fratelli. For the Stuttgart Ballet she danced leading roles in choreographies by John Cranko (Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, Onegin), John Neumeier (A Streetcar Named Desire, La Dame aux Camélias), Marcia Haydée (The Sleeping Beauty, La Sylphide, La Fille Mal Gardée) and Christian Spuck (Lulu, TheSandman, Leonce and Lena, Das Fräulein von S.), and further performed in works by William Forsythe, Jirí Kylián, Paul Lightfoot/Sol León and Marco Goecke. She joined the Ballett Zürich as a soloist for the 2012/13 season, since when she has danced Juliet in Christian Spuck’s Romeo and Juliet, Princess Lena in Leonce and Lena and Marie in Woyzeck. She has also been seen in choreographies by Sol León/Paul Lightfoot, Douglas Lee, Martin Schläpfer, Wayne McGregor and Marco Goecke. And she was awarded the Friends of Ballett Zürich Dance Prize for 2014.

Giulia Tonelli

Giulia Tonelli is from Italy. She began her training at the Balletto di Toscana Ballet School in Florence, and completed it at the Ballet School of the Vienna State Opera, where she also secured her first professional engagement in 2001/02. From 2002 to 2010 she danced with the Royal Ballet of Flanders based in Antwerp, where she was promoted to demi-soloist in 2004, and where she was seen in Petipa’s Giselle and in solo roles in choreographies by Forsythe, Balanchine, Kylián, Haydée and Spuck. She joined Ballett Zürich for the 2010/11 season, since when she has performed in Jiří Kylián’s Falling Angels and 27’52’’, in Jerome Robbins’ In the Night and in Heinz Spoerli’s ...und mied den Wind. She danced Princess Lena in Christian Spuck’s Leonce and Lena; and she has presented her own work Mind Games together with Mélissa Ligurgo as part of the Young Choreographers programme. She was awarded the Giuliana Penzi Prize in 2013; and her performances last season included Marco Goecke’s Deer Vision and the role of Juliet in Christian Spuck’s Romeo and Juliet.

Arman Grigoryan

Arman Grigoryan trained at the Armenian Ballet School in Yerevan, and was a finalist in the Prix de Lausanne international ballet competition. He danced with the Israel Ballet in 2002, and joined the Zurich Junior Ballet for the 2002/03 season. He won the gold medal in the Varna international ballet contest in 2004, and the jury prize at Japan’s Nagoya competition the following year. He joined the Ballett Zürich for the 2004/05 season, and has gone on to dance numerous leading roles in works by Heinz Spoerli such as Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Miguel in Don Quixote, the mountain king in Peer Gynt, Kashchei in The Firebird, Béranger in Raymonda, James in La Sylphide, Neptune in Idomeneo and Till in Till Eulenspiegel. He has also been seen on the Zurich stage in Swan Lake, In den Winden im Nichts, Goldberg Variations, moZART and Wäre heute morgen und gestern jetzt; and he has danced further leading roles in choreographies by Hans van Manen, Mauro Bigonzetti, William Forsythe, Niels Christe, Jiří Bubeniček and Twyla Tharp. He was awarded the Heinz Spoerli Foundation Prize in 2008 and the Friends of Ballett Zürich’s Dance Prize in 2013. His appearances last season included Valerio in Christian Spuck’s Leonce and Lena and the captain in Spuck’s Woyzeck. He was also seen in Sleight of Hand by Sol León and Paul Lightfoot, and in Martin Schläpfer’s Forellenquintett.

Christopher Parker

Christopher Parker is from the UK, and attended the Royal Ballet School in London. He danced in various Royal Ballet productions while still a student; and, after an initial engagement with the Scottish Ballet, he performed with the Ballett Zürich from 2007 to 2010. He spent the 2010/11 season with the Aalto Ballett Essen, and 2011/12 with the Dortmund Ballet, where he performed in choreographies by Xin Peng Wang, William Forsythe and Christian Spuck. He rejoined Ballett Zürich for the 2012/13 season, and has since been seen in a variety of roles including Valerio in Christian Spuck’s Leonce and Lena and in Martin Schläpfer’s Forellenquintett.

Viktorina Kapitonova

Viktorina Kapitonova, who is a native of Russia, studied at the Kazan Ballet School and Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre Academy. The winner of both the Young Ballet of Russia competition and the Arabesque contest of 2008, from 2005 onwards she danced at the Jalil Opera House in Kazan, performing solo roles in Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, La Bayadère, Coppélia and The Nutcracker. She was a member of the Stanislavsky Ballet for the 2008/09 season; and she joined the Ballett Zürich in 2010, since when her performances have included Odette/Odile in Heinz Spoerli’s Swan Lake, solos in Spoerli’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Wäre heute morgen und gestern jetzt, ...und mied den Wind and Goldberg Variations, Rosetta in Christian Spuck’s Leonce and Lena and the nurse in Spuck’s Romeo and Juliet. She has also been seen in choreographies by Duato, Balanchine, Ek, Forsythe, Kylián, Lee, McGregor and Schläpfer. She presented her choreography Two Bodies – One Soul as part of the Young Choreographers series. And this season sees her dancing the title role in Christian Spuck’s Anna Karenina.

Galina Mihaylova

Bulgarian ballerina Galina Mihaylova trained at the Bulgarian State Ballet School and at the Swiss Ballet School, under a scholarship of the Rudolf Nureyev Foundation. She joined the Ballett Zürich for the 1999/2000 season, since when she has danced roles in numerous Heinz Spoerli choreographies including Effie in La Sylphide, Amor in Don Quixote, Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Wäre heute morgen und gestern jetzt, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake and Henriette in Raymonda. She has also performed as a soloist in ballets by William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, Twyla Tharp, Uwe Scholz and Jiří Bubeniček. She has danced the master of ceremonies in Christian Spuck’s Leonce and Lena, the nurse in Spuck’s Romeo and Juliet and Margret in his Woyzeck. She was also to be seen in Wayne McGregor’s Kairos, and in Deer Vision by Marco Goecke.

Yen Han

US-Chinese Yen Han studied under Stefan Mucsi and Paul Maure in Los Angeles, at the Hartford Ballet School and at the San Francisco Ballet School before completing her training at the Beijing Dance Academy. After spells with the Jeune Ballet de France and the Ballet de Nice, she joined the Ballett Zürich in 1994, and has since risen to become one of the company’s most accomplished soloists. Her solo performances over the years have included roles in Heinz Spoerli’s productions of The Firebird, The Nutcracker, La Fille Mal Gardée, Romeo and Juliet, Daphnis et Chloé, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, La Sylphide, Peer Gynt (as Solveig), The Rite of Spring and Giselle. She has also danced further solo roles in choreographies by Mauro Bigonzetti, Hans van Manen, William Forsythe, George Balanchine, Jirí Kylián, Mats Ek (Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty), Twyla Tharp, Christopher Wheeldon, Lin Hwai-min and Martin Schläpfer. In 2012 she made a guest appearance in choreographies by Heinz Spoerli at the Salzburg Festival; and her roles in the Ballett Zürich’s 2013/14 season included Juliet in Christian Spuck’s Romeo and Juliet and the court tutor in Leonce and Lena. She also guested as Julia in Mats Ek’s Julia & Romeo at the Royal Swedish Opera. She won the Friends of Ballett Zürich’s Dance Prize in 2013, and was named Outstanding Female Dancer in the same year’s first-ever bestowal of the Swiss Dance Awards.